4.15 Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio

The responsibilities of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio include providing advice to the Prime Minister and assistance in managing the Cabinet programme. The portfolio is also responsible for Indigenous policies and programmes.

It also has responsibility for Australian honours and symbols, investigating complaints about Commonwealth Government actions, Commonwealth Government employment workplace relations policy, ensuring compliance by the Australian intelligence community agencies with Australian law, and supporting the Governor-General.

The Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio receives total resourcing of $1.7 billion of which $924.1 million is departmental funding and $792.2 million is administered funding.

The portfolio employs around 5,300 people, of which the majority are employed by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (around 2,400).

The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) is a department of state. The principal function of PM&C is to provide support to the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, Portfolio Ministers and Parliamentary Secretaries to achieve a coordinated and innovative approach to the development and implementation of government policies. Responsibility for Indigenous affairs was transferred to PM&C in 2013.

The Australian National Audit Office is a statutory body that assists the Auditor-General in providing auditing services to the Parliament and public sector entities.

The Australian Public Service Commission is a statutory body with responsibility for improving the alignment and quality of Australian Public Service (APS) human capital planning and management, fostering talent and leadership, and assuring agencies’ organisational capability, embedding APS values, and co-ordinating workplace relations for Commonwealth Government employment.

The Office of National Assessments (ONA) is a statutory body responsible for providing assessments on international developments to the Prime Minister, senior ministers and senior officials. The ONA is also responsible for coordinating and evaluating Australia’s foreign intelligence activities.

The Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman is an independent statutory body that ensures administrative action by Commonwealth Government agencies is fair and accountable.

Table 4.15.1: Portfolio resourcing: Prime Minister and Cabinet

Funding ($'000)

Staffing

Entity

Departmental

Administered

Total

ASL

Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

317,698

728,888

1,046,586

2,387

National Australia Day Council Limited

6,500

-

6,500

11

Australian National Audit Office

79,188

-

79,188

348

Australian Public Service Commission

50,119

60,806

110,925

254

Office of the Commonwealth Ombudsman

21,260

-

21,260

136

Office of the Inspector‑General of Intelligence and Security

2,248

-

2,248

12

Office of National Assessments

33,164

-

33,164

148

Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor‑General

11,559

2,465

14,024

86

Aboriginal Hostels Limited

61,936

-

61,936

445

Indigenous Business Australia

218,021

-

218,021

227

Indigenous Land Corporation

66,371

-

66,371

265

Torres Strait Regional Authority

56,030

-

56,030

139

Outback Stores Pty Ltd

*

*

*

150

Anindilyakwa Land Council

*

*

*

48

Central Land Council

*

*

*

231

Northern Land Council

*

*

*

329

Tiwi Land Council

*

*

*

11

Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council

*

*

*

32

PORTFOLIO (1)

924,094

792,159

1,716,253

5,259

Source: Department of Finance. 2013‑14 Budget updated for machinery of government changes.(1) As individual entity resourcing includes inter-agency transfers and payments, total resourcing for the portfolio may be overstated by this amount.

The National Australia Day Council Limited, the Office of the Inspector-General of Intelligence and Security,and the Office of the Official Secretary to the Governor-General are small bodies within the portfolio.

The portfolio includes a number of Indigenous bodies.

Aboriginal Hostels Limited is a Commonwealth Government company, which provides temporary accommodation to Indigenous people.

Indigenous Business Australia is a statutory body, which creates opportunities for Indigenous people and communities to build assets and wealth such as buying their own home and investing in commercial ventures.

The Indigenous Land Corporation is a statutory body, which assists Indigenous Australians to acquire and manage land so as to provide economic, environmental, social and cultural benefits.

Outback Stores Pty Ltd is a Commonwealth Government-owned company, which promotes the health, employment and economic development of remote Indigenous communities by managing retail stores.

The Northern Land Council, the Central Land Council, the Anindilyakwa Land Council and the Tiwi Land Council are independent statutory bodies established to represent Indigenous interests under the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976. The Wreck Bay Aboriginal Community Council is an independent statutory body, which holds title to land and provides services to the Aboriginal community of Wreck Bay. The Torres Strait Regional Authority is a statutory body responsible for programmes for Indigenous people living in the Torres Strait.

Chart 4.15.1 is a graphical representation of the relative size of bodies within the Prime Minister and Cabinet Portfolio.